The Inspiring Young Enfield project reached out to 5,816 young people last year despite the coronavirus pandemic, providing them with opportunities to make important decisions about their education, careers and life choices.
Inspiring Young Enfield is an Enfield Council run project, funded by £1.3 million from the Mayor of London’s Young Londoners Fund and aimed at helping young people in the borough to reach their full potential.
The three-year scheme also sets out to reduce crime, improve social community cohesion and integration and improve job prospects.
Enfield Council’s Leader, Cllr Nesil Caliskan, said: “Enfield has the fourth largest youth population in London and more children affected by poverty than any other London borough. One of this Council’s key aims is to narrow the gap so every child in Enfield grows up in a safe environment and has the chance to achieve their goals, whichever part of our borough they live in.
“It has been an enormous achievement that at the height of the pandemic, Enfield Council’s project partners were still able to reach out to thousands of young people. Many of the issues confronting these children and young adults on a daily basis have been exacerbated of late which is why Inspiring Young Enfield is such an important scheme.”
One project that was enormously successful in 2020 was the County Lines assemblies delivered by speaker, teacher and more recently film-maker, Leo Powell. He was able to work with 4,240 young people last year, talking about gangs and specifically County Lines gangs where children or vulnerable people are coerced or forced into transporting illegal drugs from one area to another.
Leo Powell said: “ “As part of the IYE scheme I have been able to speak to literally thousands of primary and secondary school children in the borough of Enfield. By having this direct contact through schools, I have been able to positively engage with young people and offer resources so they feel empowered to make positive life decisions.”
A year 11 student at St Anne’s Catholic School for Girls, commented: “Learning about county lines was very interesting but also made me think about the scary reality of what some young people are forced to go through. I found Leo’s presentation to be very informative and eye opening, as this is a topic that I feel is not spoken about enough. From this I have learnt to be more self aware and be careful with who I speak to and trust.”
Many other projects were able to continue in 2020, either delivered with strict COVID-secure measures in place or online. In addition, Enfield Council launched a new portal last year to support Inspiring Young Enfield and Youth Bubble which focuses on positive activities via youth clubs. The portal is understood to be the only such service launched by a local authority during the COVID-19 pandemic.
More activities are in the pipeline to be delivered this year with Enfield Council’s partners. To find out what programmes are being delivered by the Inspiring Young Enfield providers, visit https://youthenfield.taptub.co.uk/how-to-book/ or follow the Youth Enfield Instagram account, @Youth_Enfield. Providers interested in getting involved can also use Youth Bubble portal to put themselves forward to host activities for young people.
Inspiring Young Enfield (IYE) is being delivered through projects for 10-21 year olds. They include peer mentoring, sports-based support schemes, art, drama and music workshops and education, training and employment schemes. As well as supporting young people, there will also be support for families at risk of being involved in criminal activity.
IYE Providers:
Holler
Rudolph Walker Foundation
4-22 Foundation
Edmonton Eagles Boxing Club
County Lines Training – Leo Powell
Chicken Shed – ‘Day One Big School’
Enfield Scorpions Basketball
Rap Club Limited
Joe’s Boxing Club
Two Fresh – Education through
Build Enfield
Elevation Training and Empowerment CIC
Steppaz
Oasis Hadley Youth Project
Wellbeing Connect Services
Faz Amnesty – Mad Track
Family Based Solutions
LYRC
Work Works Training Solutions
